Research in Central & East European Studies

Russian and East European Library

The Russian and East European Library is a highly-valued resource providing access to one of the largest and best-established collections in Europe. The collection is constantly augmented to meet expanding research and teaching interests.

History of the collection

The materials in the Russian and East European collection form one of the major European collections in the field. From its modest departmental status in 1948 it has grown to its present size of c80,000 titles. As it grew the collection became noted for its strong representation of materials on the Russian and Soviet economy. The post-war period was especially well represented, as were wider aspects of events and developments within the former USSR.

The Library holdings include published collections of historical, statistical, legal, diplomatic and Communist Party documents, as well as documents produced by dissident groups. There is a substantial series of publications on the history and economic history of the republics and regions, and a significant number of publications on the history of individual enterprises. Special collections, such as that on Trotsky, and archival material such as the Schlesinger Papers and the Baltic Research Archive, provide additional specialist facilities.

In latter years the Library has concentrated upon enlarging its holdings of microform collections of Russian archives made available for the first time – for example,

• Archives of the Soviet Communist Party and Soviet State,
• The Comintern Archive,
• Russian Biographical Archive,
• Russian Revolutionary Literature Collection,
• Papers of the Red Army 1918–1923,
• Papers of the White Army 1917–1921,
• Leaders of the Russian Revolution
• Newspapers from the Russian Revolutionary Era
• Anti-Soviet Newspapers, 1918-1924

Teaching and Research Interests

Present collection development closely mirrors current teaching and research interests of members of staff in Central and Eastern European Studies. The following areas are reflected in the Library's current purchasing policy –

• Russian/Soviet domestic and foreign policy;
• gender, economy, environment, media and censorship, cultural politics and social change in post-Soviet Russia, Russian and Soviet history including cultural history, Russian language and literature;
• the Baltic States (statehood, nationality, identity);
• Polish politics, history, language, literature, media and censorship, education;
• Czech history and politics, language and literature, media;
• Central and East European politics, history, economic and social history 1918–1989, nationalism, gender, culture, geography and peoples, media, political economy, 19th century literature, politics and society, civil society and the state;
• Communist and post-Communist politics.

Books, Journals and Newspapers

In recent years the rapidly changing situation in Central and Eastern Europe has greatly increased the need and demand for journals and newspapers. Access is now available to a wide range of databases (among them ABSEES, CEEOL and Universal Database of Central and Regional Russian Newspapers) as well as to books and journals -including over 60 newspaper titles and over 1500 Russian and East European journals led by the world-renowned Europe-Asia Studies - either in hard copy or in electronic form.

Location and Access

The main collections are to be found on Level 6 of the Main Library, Glasgow University. However, current issues of journals can be found on Level 3 while the extensive microform collections can be found on Level 4.

Contact Details

Lynn Irvine
Level 7 (Room 709) of the Main Library, Glasgow University
Tel: 0141 330 6741
Email: Lynn.Irvine@glasgow.ac.uk

Mark Pittaway Library and Archive

The Mark Pittaway Library and Archive was  donated  to CRCEES in April, 2011 by Mark’s parents. For several years, Mark taught contemporary and 20th century history at the Open University, and made a significant scholarly contribution to his subject.

The collection reflects Mark’s lifelong  passion  for the history  of Hungary and for the 1945-1990 period in particular.  The collection consists of more than 800 monographs and scholarly publications in the field of social and political history, and the archives provide a good collection of photocopies of historical documents and articles. Most volumes are in Hungarian, but some general works are in German and English.

Mark Pittaway Archive Book List Nov 2011 (pdf)

Please direct your enquiries, comments and suggestions to zsuzsanna.varga@glasgow.ac.uk.